IRISH TROUBLE.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XLV, Issue 12018, 23 March 1920, Page 5

IRISH TROUBLE.

THE McOURTAIN MURDER,

Uited Press Association —By Electric Telegraph—Copyright London, March 31 Five bands and a procession a mile long participated in the removal- ®f MacOurtain’s body from his home in Blackpool, a suburb of Cork, to the City Hall, where it is lying in state dressed in the uniform of the Irish Volunteers. Thousands of people inspected the body to-day. Sinn Fein volunteers are acting as a guard. All places of amusement in Cork were closed on Saturday. The city is observing Monday as a general holiday. An inquest was opened and adjourned. . No police were present. The solicitor for the next-of-kin requested that no ex-policemen be allowed to serve on the jury. On Monday there will be a public funeral. _ The chairman of, the Tipperary Guardians said that the shooting was a appalling event, casting a gloom over the country. The military searched the house after the shooting. The Weekly Despatch describes the murder as an example of new counter outrages, and points ont that it is hardly possible td attribute the crime to Sinn Feiners. ' According to the Sunday Times’ Dublin correspondent, the Sinn Fein leaders are averse from any recurrence of the rebellion, knowing that failure will be inevitable, but the young hotheads are developing a dangerous spirit. Political tension has reached a point unequalled for many mouths. SAFEGUARDS WANTED. The Sunday Times says that the Government is inquiring unofficially how the abandonment of the Catholic Church’s opposition to the Home Rule Bill could be secured. An intermediary has learned that the Church’s ultimate attitude depends upon the safeguards provided for Catholic education throughout Ireland. Apparently, therefore, the partition is at present an insuperable barrier, as the Ulster Parliament cannot assume adequate consideration of educational interests.